The Car Dealer Trade Appraisal

In most dealerships the appraisal will be performed by the used car manager or sales manager.

 

It is critical that the manager appraises your trade-in while you are on the test drive.  You must make it a requirement to your visit.  Otherwise, you will not accomplish your goal of this appointment (Test Drive. ACV and Buy-Rate).

 

 

What is initially required for the trade appraisal is the basic information to be recorded on a form. This information will describe the vehicle in terms of mileage and equipment. Also, it may require an answer as to the vehicle's accident history.  To save time, make a copy of your vehicle registration and give it to the salesman upon your arrival.  Your registration will provide them with your trade's VIN number, vehicle description and your personal information. This will allow them to complete the appraisal from more quickly.

 

This completed form is then given to the manager.  They will visually inspect the car and evaluate the mechanical condition. The sales manger will then affix a value on the vehicle based on these factors.

 

In most cases the dealer will refer to a guide such as the Kelly Blue Book to get the base values and then they deduct for reconditioning. This process can take approximately thirty minutes if the vehicle requires a detailed inspection. 

 

Eventually, the sales manger will determine the ACV or Actual Cash Value. This is the amount the vehicle is worth to the dealer in cash, without any “blue sky”. 

 

The “ACV” is what you will want to obtain when they arrive back from the test drive. 

 

Unfortunately, the dealer will be hesitant to provide this information to customer. They realize that the trade-in is only one component of car deal.  Therefore, if they provide the customer with only the ACV without the sale price of the vehicle, the customer could “shop” a competitive dealer and probably receive a better value. Again, this is why dealers want the whole deal to be completed on the initial visit.